Yuletide Letter
I got my yuletide assignment, which I figured meant now's a good time to post this! So. [ETA: Apparently, I'll be getting a new assignment. But I still figure now's a good time for the Yuletide letter.]
Dear yuletide writer,
You volunteered to write me a story in a fandom that is dear to my heart, thank you! I adore the characters I requested so I'll love any story that lets them be in the spotlight and gives them a chance to shine. Beyond that, my prompts are just to give you ideas or a starting place if you need one. I am extremely easy to please, so I will be utterly thrilled with whatever it is you write for me simply because it is for me and in one of my beloved fandoms.
General preferences tend towards happy, fun stories more than sad, angsty ones. I am a total sucker for domesticity and romance, although I define romance very broadly. A traditional, candlelit dinner can be romantic, but so can a cutthroat game of poker. It all depends on what's appropriate for the characters involved. On the other hand, I also like seeing the characters in action, doing whatever it is they do. They may be catching criminals or having undersea adventures or making movies or something else! Again, I'm easy. (Actually, I'm kind of slutty when it comes to reading. There isn't a genre that I refuse to read, so go with what you think you can write best. Really!)
[ETA: I want to clarify what I meant by happy stories because I just realized that it might sound like all I want is a fluffy bunny story full of sunshine and rainbows. And I like that, but I also like stories that are just about life and its foibles. So long as, at the end, everyone's okay or mostly okay or on the road to being okay, then I count that as happy. Sad is when everyone's dead at the end.]
I will admit to a preference for slash, but gen is completely okay with me as well. (Except in the case of Jules and Robin. If you are one of the few who offered to write Suzanne Brockmann fic, daring writer, I would be very surprised by gen because, well, the relationship is canon. But I don't think you would have offered to write them if that was a problem.) If you decide to go the slash route, sex can happen or not depending on if you think the story needs it.
For Rex Stout, my favorite thing about the canon is the wit and humor in it. It's not fluff, but it's also not the grim, gritty, depressing realism that you get with a lot of typically American mysteries. The reason I specifically requested Saul and Fritz is because they're my two favorites, but virtually all of the fic in this fandom stars either Archie or Wolfe or both. Sometimes Saul gets to be a main character but only alongside Archie and Wolfe. Not that I don't adore them too (I do! It'd be difficult to read the series if I didn't.), but it'd be nice for them to not be the focus for once. I like that Saul and Fritz are some of the best at what they do but don't feel the need to brag about it or make a show of it; it's a nice contrast from Archie and Wolfe.
For seaQuest, I like Lucas and Tony being friends, and I like that they're both average guys. Sure, Lucas is super-smart and Tony has gills, but I can picture them hanging out or pulling idiotic stunts. As for the show, my favorite thing has always been that it takes place underwater. I really was not kidding when I said that I think marine animals are the coolest things ever. (But don't freak out thinking I'm some sort of amateur fish expert, if this is now a worry for you! I just like watching them, and if I watch them on Discovery Channel, I sometimes hear interesting facts in the voiceovers.)
For Suzanne Brockmann, this would be where my love of romance comes into play. Romance! Love! Yay! Robin's a total sweetheart once he finally got his head straightened out about his drinking, and Jules is just made of awesome. I'm trying to come up with a scene that has Jules in it and is not awesome, but I can't. I'd even read about him cleaning the bathroom, although that may be my domestic kink showing there. I'll have read All Through the Night by the time the archive opens, so don't worry about spoiling me for that.
Despite all my blather, what I said in the first paragraph still stands. I will love whatever you write because it is a story in one of my beloved fandoms. Everything else is just icing on the cake, and you can take it or leave it as you please.
Dear yuletide writer,
You volunteered to write me a story in a fandom that is dear to my heart, thank you! I adore the characters I requested so I'll love any story that lets them be in the spotlight and gives them a chance to shine. Beyond that, my prompts are just to give you ideas or a starting place if you need one. I am extremely easy to please, so I will be utterly thrilled with whatever it is you write for me simply because it is for me and in one of my beloved fandoms.
General preferences tend towards happy, fun stories more than sad, angsty ones. I am a total sucker for domesticity and romance, although I define romance very broadly. A traditional, candlelit dinner can be romantic, but so can a cutthroat game of poker. It all depends on what's appropriate for the characters involved. On the other hand, I also like seeing the characters in action, doing whatever it is they do. They may be catching criminals or having undersea adventures or making movies or something else! Again, I'm easy. (Actually, I'm kind of slutty when it comes to reading. There isn't a genre that I refuse to read, so go with what you think you can write best. Really!)
[ETA: I want to clarify what I meant by happy stories because I just realized that it might sound like all I want is a fluffy bunny story full of sunshine and rainbows. And I like that, but I also like stories that are just about life and its foibles. So long as, at the end, everyone's okay or mostly okay or on the road to being okay, then I count that as happy. Sad is when everyone's dead at the end.]
I will admit to a preference for slash, but gen is completely okay with me as well. (Except in the case of Jules and Robin. If you are one of the few who offered to write Suzanne Brockmann fic, daring writer, I would be very surprised by gen because, well, the relationship is canon. But I don't think you would have offered to write them if that was a problem.) If you decide to go the slash route, sex can happen or not depending on if you think the story needs it.
For Rex Stout, my favorite thing about the canon is the wit and humor in it. It's not fluff, but it's also not the grim, gritty, depressing realism that you get with a lot of typically American mysteries. The reason I specifically requested Saul and Fritz is because they're my two favorites, but virtually all of the fic in this fandom stars either Archie or Wolfe or both. Sometimes Saul gets to be a main character but only alongside Archie and Wolfe. Not that I don't adore them too (I do! It'd be difficult to read the series if I didn't.), but it'd be nice for them to not be the focus for once. I like that Saul and Fritz are some of the best at what they do but don't feel the need to brag about it or make a show of it; it's a nice contrast from Archie and Wolfe.
For seaQuest, I like Lucas and Tony being friends, and I like that they're both average guys. Sure, Lucas is super-smart and Tony has gills, but I can picture them hanging out or pulling idiotic stunts. As for the show, my favorite thing has always been that it takes place underwater. I really was not kidding when I said that I think marine animals are the coolest things ever. (But don't freak out thinking I'm some sort of amateur fish expert, if this is now a worry for you! I just like watching them, and if I watch them on Discovery Channel, I sometimes hear interesting facts in the voiceovers.)
For Suzanne Brockmann, this would be where my love of romance comes into play. Romance! Love! Yay! Robin's a total sweetheart once he finally got his head straightened out about his drinking, and Jules is just made of awesome. I'm trying to come up with a scene that has Jules in it and is not awesome, but I can't. I'd even read about him cleaning the bathroom, although that may be my domestic kink showing there. I'll have read All Through the Night by the time the archive opens, so don't worry about spoiling me for that.
Despite all my blather, what I said in the first paragraph still stands. I will love whatever you write because it is a story in one of my beloved fandoms. Everything else is just icing on the cake, and you can take it or leave it as you please.